Tl:Dr; Chartreuse spinner baits, fish on the leeward side of points, fish in the shallows

Long version:

We hit the water at about 6:30am. It was mildly chilly to start the day (sorry, no temp, I'll take it down next time I'm out). There was some misting, and a prevailing wind from the south all day. We started at the discharge, but water temp was not more than a degree or two above the other temps we saw on the lake, so I don't know how much water they were actually discharging. We didn't have any luck there, saw lots of fish on the fishfinder, lots of rolls on the surface but the vast majority were catfish and gar. Seeing as we didn't have any luck, we motored across to the east side of the lake and fished the shore, focusing on structure. Had marginal success on the structure, but it became apparent quickly that the fish were shallow (sub 3 ft of water), and liked chartreuse spinner baits (out of 8 fish, 7 were caught on chartreuse spinners, 1 on a white spinner). As of about 11:30, we began to focus on these points. At one point we wade fished a promising point, yielding 2-3 fish. All fish were caught on the leeward side of points, in the slack water. The fish we caught ranged in size from 2 lbs to about 6 lbs. Most were females with eggs still in them. We pulled out of the water at 1:30pm (ish).

Lake is up, so watch yourself when it starts to get shallow.

Talking to several people today, the ones that were having any success were all using chartreuse spinner baits.

If you want to bow fish, the gar are EVERYWHERE. Is it shallow (1ft-1.5ft)? Is there some grass/weeds? Is it on the leeward side? There will be gar there if yes to all three.

We tried some chug bugs here and there, as we were seeing fish jumping and rolling on the surface, but we were getting no action on them. Really wish they were, few things are as much fun as catching bass on top water. By the time we found a good spot where the bass were working the surface, we had already found our winning combo, and in 15 or so minutes of trying it (one spot looked really promising), we had gotten no interest in our baits, so we went back to the spinners and got around on the leeward side of the point.

Originally Posted By: 1Tacklehoarder

Welcome to the forum GL! That's a great amount of information. I have a question for anyone who might know. Are they letting water out of the spillway, and can you fish it from the bank?

They were letting water out of the spillway as of yesterday, and I did see people down there fishing it. I don't know anything beyond that.

We tried some chug bugs here and there, as we were seeing fish jumping and rolling on the surface, but we were getting no action on them. Really wish they were, few things are as much fun as catching bass on top water. By the time we found a good spot where the bass were working the surface, we had already found our winning combo, and in 15 or so minutes of trying it (one spot looked really promising), we had gotten no interest in our baits, so we went back to the spinners and got around on the leeward side of the point.

Thanks, I have only fished Gibbons a few times but I had great fun. I fished it with Frogs on the lilly pads and I wade fished it with my fly rod and frog poppers early in the morning. I only caught a few fish both times but watching those bass bust through the lilly pads to attack my spro frog was one of the most memorable days I've had fishing.

We tried some chug bugs here and there, as we were seeing fish jumping and rolling on the surface, but we were getting no action on them. Really wish they were, few things are as much fun as catching bass on top water. By the time we found a good spot where the bass were working the surface, we had already found our winning combo, and in 15 or so minutes of trying it (one spot looked really promising), we had gotten no interest in our baits, so we went back to the spinners and got around on the leeward side of the point.

Thanks, I have only fished Gibbons a few times but I had great fun. I fished it with Frogs on the lilly pads and I wade fished it with my fly rod and frog poppers early in the morning. I only caught a few fish both times but watching those bass bust through the lilly pads to attack my spro frog was one of the most memorable days I've had fishing.

Keep up the reports

The lily pads haven't come up fully yet. When they do, we will always have a few hollow body frogs sitting around. Great lily pad lures.